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Originally Posted by eBlip
do i have to set this up manually or does gdisk do it for me ?
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gdisk/cgdisk/fdisk/cfdisk are programs for manually partitioning a device. If you have an older system I would recommend to go for MBR instead of GPT, so rather use fdisk or better cfdisk. To set up a swap partition (you need only one, 1GB should be sufficient for your system) at first create the partition, then change its type to 82 (Linux swap).
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the next problem is i read about using something called grub...this is meant to help me organise my boot process...but someone else said no ...........use syslinux its easier...
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If you intend to boot several systems it will be easier to go for Grub in the beginning. It is no problem at all to change the bootloader later, if you feel you need to do that.
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ps i know i can only have a maximum of 4.primary partitions.
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True. I would recommend to set up your first partition for your primary OS (I assume that it is Arch), the second as swap partition and the third as extra partition for data that you want to share with all systems. Then set up the fourth partition as extended partition with the rest of the space. The extended partition acts as a container in which you can create logical partitions for the other OSes you want to install.
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the last thing is in setting up arch you create filing systems like /bin or /lib.
now these contain library files etc.
when i install other systems...should they reference this library set up in order to run or should i load up a duplicate copy of these libraries on the partition that the new linx operating system is going to be using.
and lastly...it appears that linux uses a file system in order to partition...
the thing i am concerned about is that on my first installation of arch....i will have a root directory on my first partition...
when i install slackware on the next partition ...do i need another root directory which i know as '/' or what will i need.
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Every distribution you install will need its own /-partition. Every Linux distro comes with its own set of libraries and program files, you don't have to take care of that and you shouldn't do that. Linking the library-directories of one distro into a different distro will break the system. The distros are independent, no distro needs files from a different distro.
Seeing your current state of Linux knowledge I would recommend to stay with Arch in the beginning and learn the basic concepts (the ArchWiki is a very good source of Linux knowledge), then go to install different distros. Otherwise the different systems may overwhelm you. Even if you are willing to learn it will take quite some time to grasp the basics.